


when i come back i'll bring your wedding ring

by adamganseys



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-12
Updated: 2016-09-12
Packaged: 2018-08-14 13:48:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8016421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adamganseys/pseuds/adamganseys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five ways a proposal between Adam and Ronan could go down. Rating might go up in future chapters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	when i come back i'll bring your wedding ring

**Author's Note:**

> So Adam and Ronan are pretty much already married in TRK lbr, and I don't think they'd wait too long before making it official. I can never decide how exactly the proposal would go down though, or which of them would propose, so I decided to just write a bunch of different scenarios (they'll all probably take place before Adam graduates college lmao... I can't help myself I can't see them waiting more than five years after starting to date). (There will also be one scenario in my other fic but that won't happen for many more chapters.)
> 
> The title is from "Leaving on a Jet Plane" by Eisley (John Denver cover), which Maggie tagged as a Blue Sargent song for TRK, but tbh I think it much better fits the bittersweetness of Adam leaving Ronan for college and their long distance relationship.

It was three weeks into June before the subject finally came up. 

Adam and Ronan were both hungry animals, but they were hesitant before taking things further physically, Ronan considerably more so than Adam. It was a combination of a lot of things, one of the major reasons being the deep trauma they had all just gone through. 

It was weeks before Adam could touch Ronan without being afraid of killing him, over a month before Ronan was able to do much else but grieve, with Adam at his side, simply holding him and being there. 

Another was that neither of them had done anything before, and Ronan was careful with the force of his want for Adam, worried that he would scare the other boy away.

So it was over two months before they went further than heated shirtless makeouts.

On December 31st, Adam gave Ronan a hand job for the first time, and Ronan returned the favor. 

On January 16th, Ronan gave Adam a blowjob, and on January 25th Adam returned the favor.

Since then, they had gotten off an immeasurable amount of times, in countless different ways, constantly starving for each other’s touch. 

They hadn’t done more than that, though. Neither of them had even mentioned the idea of taking the next step, though Adam frequently thought about it.

He wondered more and more often about what it would be like to have his fingers inside of Ronan, to fuck him senseless, to have him be entirely _his_. For a while, he was perfectly content with what they had been doing, but as the months went on, he ached and ached for more. 

So at the end of May, he bought the necessary supplies and kept them stashed in his apartment, and when he moved to the Barns in June, he hid them in one of his drawers in Ronan’s bedroom – or _their_ bedroom now, he supposed.

He had meant to mention it to Ronan soon after he bought them, but there were too many other things on his mind – college decisions and prom and finals and graduation and the visit to his parents’ trailer. 

When it had been a week since he had officially moved to the Barns and everything else was behind him, he decided he would finally do it.

It was a late Friday evening, and Adam had just come from work. Ronan was sitting on his bed when Adam walked in, tired but not overly so, for once. 

“Parrish,” Ronan said, smiling at Adam as he sat down beside him.

“Lynch,” Adam drawled, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before lying down.

Ronan raised his eyebrows. “That’s it? I’ve barely seen you all week and I don’t even get a proper hello?” 

Adam rolled his eyes. “That’s not my fault. You were the one who went to D.C. for four days. And no one’s stopping you from kissing me, you know.”

“Good point,” Ronan agreed, grinning. “No one’s stopping me.” And then he leaned down and kissed Adam, sweeter than expected, and Adam felt his heart stutter in his chest despite how many times they’d done this. 

Soon Ronan was on top of Adam, his hands exploring Adam’s ribs underneath his t-shirt, and Adam wanted nothing more than to keep going, but he remembered what he needed to do. 

Adam murmured, “Ronan, wait.”

Ronan pulled away, breathing hard. “What’s up?”

Adam swallowed, gathering his resolve. “I, uh—I wanted to talk to you about something.” 

Ronan raised his eyebrows. “Sounds ominous.” 

“It’s not. It’s just… well. I’ve been thinking… we’ve been together for almost eight months now.” He faltered, unsure of how to go on. He didn’t know why this was so difficult. They hadn’t been shy or awkward about intimacy in a long time, but he supposed this was different.

Ronan looked confused. “Yeah, we have. You have a point there, Parrish, or are we just stating random facts?”

Adam huffed. “You’re not making this easy.”

“What do you have to tell me that’s so goddamn difficult in the first place?” Ronan’s expression turned worried, almost afraid. “Wait, are you—do you not want this anymore—“

Adam shook his head furiously, “Jesus, no. No. I want—“ 

And then Ronan’s phone rang. Ronan groaned, but actually picked up for once, which was a sign of just how nervous he was for whatever Adam had to say.

“What, Sargent?”

Adam sat up, curious as to what Blue wanted. 

“I’ll ask him.” Ronan held his phone away and turned to Adam. “Parrish. The maggot wants to know if you still have Persephone’s tarot cards.” 

Adam swallowed, a sudden pang of grief in his chest, for both Persephone and Cabeswater. “Yeah, of course. Why?”

“Fuck knows. She just said that Maura and Calla need to borrow them for a couple days, but she’ll give them back to you right after.”

“Oh, uh. Sure. I can give them to her tomorrow.”

Ronan relayed the information back to Blue, and after hanging up, he asked Adam, “Where did you keep them?” 

“I… don’t remember, actually. It’s been a while since I looked at them. I’m pretty sure they’re somewhere in the closet, though. Or maybe in one of the drawers there.” 

Ronan stood and walked over to the chest of drawers.

“I can just look for them tomorrow, Ronan,” Adam insisted, feeling lazy and wanting Ronan’s warmth next to him again.

Ronan ignored him and kept fumbling around in the dresser, clearly not wanting to get back to their previous conversation. Adam sighed and decided just to wait for him, until— 

“Wait,” Adam said, standing up and almost tripping in his rush to stop Ronan. But it was too late. Ronan was already looking through the drawer where Adam had kept the box of condoms and lube, and just as Adam reached him, Ronan stilled.

Adam felt his face heat up as Ronan stared at the offending items, and Ronan’s ears and neck were in a similar condition.

Adam cleared his throat awkwardly. “That’s, um—that’s what I wanted to talk to you about, actually.”

Ronan closed the drawer but didn’t turn around. Adam waited, but when Ronan still wouldn’t look at him, he said, pointedly, “Ronan.” 

Ronan finally turned around but wouldn’t meet his eyes. He started gnawing on his leather bands.

Adam continued, “I bought them almost a month ago and I’ve been meaning to bring it up. I, uh…” There were probably many tactful ways to express what he wanted, but what came out of Adam’s mouth next was, “I want to fuck you.”

Ronan’s eyes widened and he turned impossibly redder. 

Adam scrambled to diffuse the tension. “I mean, we don’t have to, obviously. I’ve just been thinking about it a lot and—“

The moment was broken with Opal’s terrified wailing. 

Ronan’s expression turned concerned, and he muttered, “I’ll go check on her.” He was out the door before Adam could utter another word.

Adam wanted to check on Opal, too, and make sure she was okay, but her crying stopped a minute later and he figured Ronan would calm her down. He took a deep breath and tried to slow his racing heart. 

Ronan looked terrified at what Adam said, but Adam knew that meant nothing. Ronan always wore that expression when it came to discussing something new with their relationship, regardless of whether or not he wanted it. More often than not, he wanted it even more than Adam.

When ten minutes passed and Ronan hadn’t returned, he peeked into Opal’s room to find both of them with their eyes closed. Ronan didn’t stir at Adam’s presence, but Adam knew he was still awake. He didn’t want to accidentally wake up Opal by calling him out on it, though, so he decided that they’d just talk about it the next day. 

It turned out that getting Ronan alone for the next few days was nearly impossible. The other boy was avoiding him at every chance possible, making sure that he was never without company – they spent more time than usual with Blue, Gansey, and Henry at Monmouth or Nino’s, and the few moments those three weren’t present, Opal always was. At night, Ronan would sleep in Opal’s room, claiming that she needed him in case she got nightmares.

Adam found the whole thing ridiculous and irritating. All Ronan had to do if he didn’t want to have sex was say no. Adam would never pressure him. But of course, Ronan Lynch would rather do most anything than actually talk about his feelings.

After the fourth day, Adam had enough. When he arrived at the Barns on Tuesday evening, leaving work earlier than he planned, he cornered Ronan in his bedroom. Ronan wasn’t expecting him until at least a half hour later, so he startled when Adam entered the room.

He immediately got up, an excuse already at the tip of his tongue. “Parrish. You’re early. I should probably start making dinner—“

But Adam didn’t let him get to the door. He kept a firm grip on Ronan’s upper arm when he tried to move past him.

“Lynch, stop.”

Ronan glared at him. “Let me go, Jesus, do you want Opal to go hungry—“

“ _Ronan_. Will you just talk to me for five fucking minutes? You can’t avoid me forever.”

Ronan clenched his jaw. “I wasn’t fucking avoiding you.” 

“ _Ronan_ ,” Adam said again. Ronan’s shoulders sagged in defeat.

Adam sighed and took Ronan’s hand, dragging him to the bed. When they were comfortably sat next to each other, Adam squeezed Ronan’s hand.

Looking at Ronan, Adam said, carefully, “You know I love you, right?” 

Ronan groaned. “Christ, Adam, we don’t have to—“

“And you know I’m not a complete jackass,” Adam continued, not letting Ronan speak further. “So you know that if you don’t want something, you can just _tell me_.”

Ronan exhaled, but didn’t say anything.

Adam went on, “Seriously, Ronan. It’s fine if you’re not ready. We can wait as long as you want to.”

“Parrish—“

“Or if you never want to, that’s okay, too.“ 

“I _do_ want to, that’s not—that’s not the problem.” 

“Then what is it?” 

Ronan gritted his teeth. 

Adam was getting impatient, but he kept his voice calm. “Come on, Ronan, just talk to me.” 

“It’s not that fucking simple.”

“ _What’s_ not simple? It’s not like I’m going to pressure you or something.” When Ronan still wouldn’t speak, Adam bit out a little sharper, “God, Lynch, spit it out—“

“I don’t want to have sex until we get married,” Ronan blurted out.

Adam froze. 

Ronan also froze.

Both of them turned beet red. 

“Fuck,” Ronan swore, apparently at a loss at what else to say.

Adam was also at a loss, opening and closing his mouth several times without any words managing to escape. 

“Uh,” Adam finally said, eloquently. 

Ronan dragged his hands over his face. “I didn’t mean— _Shit_. You know what I fucking meant, Parrish.” 

“Do I?” Adam’s throat felt dry. “What I know is that you basically just proposed to me.”

Ronan glared at him, though he was still blushing furiously. “Don’t be a dick. I meant that I don’t want to have sex before marriage. To whomever that might be.”

Adam raised his eyebrows. “So are you planning on marrying someone else, then?” Now that the initial shock of Ronan’s confession wore off, Adam thought about Ronan actually getting married to someone else eventually, if this thing between them somehow didn’t work out. The image made his stomach churn, his blood boil.

Ronan looked away. “I’m fucking eighteen, Parrish. And I can’t tell the future. Shut up.”

“Okay, well, you know. That’s—it’s fine.”

“What’s fine?”

“That you want to wait until marriage. You didn’t have to be embarrassed or whatever about telling me. It’s okay.” 

Ronan looked at him again, expression complicated. “Is it?”

Adam didn’t know if he was surprised about this or not. He probably shouldn’t have been. Ronan was traditional in a lot of ways, partially due to his religion and upbringing, partially because that was just who he was.

Adam lightly pushed his shoulder. “Don’t be stupid. Of course it is. It doesn’t change anything.” He swallowed, preparing himself for his next words. “Like I said, I’ll wait as long as you want to.”

It took a moment for his words to register, and when they did, Ronan’s eyes widened impossibly. He opened his mouth, but was speechless once again. Adam didn’t break his gaze, even as his face burned.

“Did you just accept my proposal, Parrish?” Ronan choked out, finally. 

“I thought you said it wasn’t a proposal,” Adam replied, voice breathy.

“Fuck you.”

“You just said you wanted to wait for that.” 

Ronan scoffed, turning away.

Adam let himself picture it: marrying Ronan Lynch, raising Opal together, living at the Barns or elsewhere, the three of them, for the rest of his life.

Once Adam thought about it, he knew with a fierce certainty that he couldn’t imagine his future being anything else. It was a terrifying thing. He had always known that him and Ronan would be long term, but he had never thought about _forever_. He simply hadn’t let his mind wander that far. But now he knew just how long term he wanted them to be. And he suspected Ronan wanted the same. 

Adam fidgeted with his hands. “It’s weird, but I never used to think about marriage. Like, it wasn’t really a priority. I just knew that I wanted to go to college and get a great job and be successful. Marriage was at the bottom of the list, if it was there at all.” 

Adam saw Ronan looking at him from his peripheral vision. 

He took a deep breath. “But now… I don’t know. I can picture it. I wouldn’t mind it, down the line.” He took Ronan’s hand in his, thumb rubbing circles into his palm. “Someday.”

He heard Ronan inhale sharply. When he finally got up the nerve to look at the other boy, the look on Ronan’s face took his breath away. It was Ronan at his most vulnerable, his expression more raw than Adam had ever seen it. 

“Adam,” Ronan said, voice grave and full of emotion.

Adam kissed him, long and deep. Ronan’s hand came up to cup his cheek, fingers trembling.

When Adam pulled away, he was smiling. If someone had told him a year ago that he’d be agreeing to spend his life with Ronan Lynch, he would never have believed it.

Ronan was still looking at him with awe, and Adam just shrugged, ducking his head. “It’s not like I didn’t already know this would be all or nothing. And when I envision my future, now, you and Opal are always there. It’s not even a question.”

Ronan swallowed, still struggling with words. “You sure you’re not just saying that because you want to bang me?” 

Adam let out a surprised laugh. Well,” he said slyly, “I definitely really want that too.” 

Ronan grinned and kissed him again. “Me too. I—want that too. So much. And, you know, the other thing. Christ, I love you.” 

“Good,” Adam breathed, his heart soaring, and kissed him harder. “Have you… thought about it? Us having sex?” Adam murmured against his lips. 

Ronan’s breath hitched. “Of course I have.” 

Adam’s lips traveled to Ronan’s jaw, his throat, Ronan shivering underneath him. “How much?”

Ronan’s voice was strained. “A lot.”

Adam’s teeth scraped Ronan’s collarbone. “Did you dream about it, too?”

Ronan made a strangled sound. “God, Adam, _yes,_ and if you keep this up, the wait will be a million times more unbearable.”

Adam laughed, breaking away. “You’re right, you’re right. It’s going to be a long wait. We better pace ourselves.”

“Fuck that,” Ronan said. “Let’s get hitched tomorrow. We’ll take Helen’s helicopter and fly to Vegas. It’ll be real classy.”

“My dream wedding,” Adam said dryly.

“It fucking better be,” Ronan agreed, smirking.

Adam hesitated before asking his next question, feeling curious, “So, it’s a religious thing for you, right? Waiting until marriage.”

Rona nodded. “Yeah, mostly. It was seared into our brains at church, though I don’t know if our parents actually expected us to stick with it.” He snorted derisively. “Declan sure as fuck didn’t follow it. Either way, I _want_ to wait. And… I don’t know. It was even difficult to be okay with doing other stuff, at first. Not anymore, but—“ Ronan broke off, chewing his lip.

Adam knew Ronan’s struggle with his sexuality played a large factor into his initial hesitance. “Hey. It’s okay. I get it.” 

Adam kissed him, trying to convey what he couldn’t say with words – how he didn’t mind waiting, how sure he was that it _would_ happen someday because there was no way that Adam could possibly spend his life with anyone else. 

After a few moments, Ronan pulled away. He stared at Adam, breathing hard, pupils dilated. “You know, we only have to wait to fuck.”

“I know that. If we had to wait for you to blow me too I probably would have lost my mind by now,” Adam said, smirking. He would have dealt with it, of course, but god, it would have been excruciating. Or maybe not, since he wouldn’t know what he was missing, wouldn’t know just how exceptional Ronan could be with his mouth. 

“No, I know, I mean—we can—“ Ronan inhaled shakily and put his cheek to Adam’s. His breath was hot in Adam’s hearing ear when he said, “I like your hands. A lot. Especially your fingers.” 

Adam’s breath hitched, desire coursing through him, fiercer than ever. He pulled back and looked Ronan in the eye. The other boy’s face was bright red, but he didn’t look away from Adam. 

“Okay,” Adam managed, voice thick with arousal. “I guess I better put them to good use, then.”

“I guess you better.”

Adam did.

**Author's Note:**

> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ There's a distinct possibility that Ronan would want to wait for marriage imo (though it's not my personal headcanon). Future chapters will have more traditional proposals, don't worry. Comments and kudos are always appreciated. Find me on tumblr @adamparrush and twitter @adamparrush.


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